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arXiv:2111.11457 · Physical Review Research

Insights into the anisotropic spin- S Kitaev chain

Jacob S. Gordon, Hae‐Young Kee

Published Mar 16, 2022• 15 citations
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Abstract

Recently, there has been a renewed interest in properties of the higher-spin Kitaev models, especially their low-dimensional analogs with additional interactions. These quasi-one-dimensional systems exhibit rich phase diagrams with symmetry-protected topological phases, Luttinger liquids, hidden order, and higher-rank magnetism. However, the nature of the pure spin-$S$ Kitaev chains is not yet fully understood. Earlier works found a unique ground state with short-ranged correlations for $S=1$ and an intriguing double-peak structure in the heat capacity associated with an entropy plateau. To understand the low-energy excitations and thermodynamics for general $S$, we study the anisotropic spin-$S$ Kitaev chain. Starting from the dimerized limit, we derive an effective low-energy Hamiltonian at finite anisotropy. For half-integer spins we find a trivial effective model, reflecting a nonlocal symmetry protecting the degeneracy, while for integer $S$ we find interactions among the flux degrees of freedom that select a unique ground state. The effective model for integer spins is used to predict the low-energy excitations and thermodynamics, and we make a comparison with the semiclassical limit through linear spin wave theory. Finally, we speculate on the nature of the isotropic limit.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.4.013205

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In the first part of this paper, we study the spin-$S$ Kitaev model using spin-wave theory. We discover a remarkable geometry of the minimum-energy surface in the $N$-spin space. The classical ground states, called Cartesian or CN-ground states, whose number grows exponentially with the number of spins $N$, form a set of points in the $N$-spin space. These points are connected by a network of flat valleys in the $N$-spin space giving rise to a continuous family of classical ground states. Further, the CN-ground states have a correspondence with dimer coverings and with self-avoiding walks on a honeycomb lattice. The zero-point energy of our spin-wave theory picks out a subset from a continuous family of classically degenerate states as the quantum ground states; the number of these states also grows exponentially with $N$. In the second part, we present some exact results. For arbitrary spin $S$, we show that localized ${Z}_{2}$ flux excitations are present by constructing plaquette operators with eigenvalues $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$, which commute with the Hamiltonian. This set of commuting plaquette operators leads to an exact vanishing of the spin-spin correlation functions beyond nearest-neighbor separation found earlier for the spin-1/2 model [G. Baskaran et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 247201 (2007)]. We introduce a generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation for the case of general spin $S$ and find a complete set of commuting link operators similar to the spin-1/2 model, thereby making the ${Z}_{2}$ gauge structure more manifest. The Jordan-Wigner construction also leads, in a natural fashion, to Majorana fermion operators for half-odd-integer spin cases and hard-core boson operators for integer spin cases strongly suggesting the presence of Majorana fermion and boson excitations in the respective low-energy sectors. Finally, we present a modified Kitaev Hamiltonian, which is exactly solvable for all half-odd-integer spins; it is equivalent to an exponentially large number of copies of spin-1/2 Kitaev Hamiltonians.

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Recently, there has been a renewed interest in properties of the higher-spin Kitaev models, especially their low-dimensional analogs with additional interactions. These quasi-one-dimensional systems exhibit rich phase diagrams with symmetry-protected topological phases, Luttinger liquids, hidden order, and higher-rank magnetism. However, the nature of the pure spin-SSS Kitaev chains is not yet fully understood. Earlier works found a unique ground state with short-ranged correlations for S=1S=1S=1 and an intriguing double-peak structure in the heat capacity associated with an entropy plateau. To understand the low-energy excitations and thermodynamics for general SSS, we study the anisotropic spin-SSS Kitaev chain. Starting from the dimerized limit, we derive an effective low-energy Hamiltonian at finite anisotropy. For half-integer spins we find a trivial effective model, reflecting a nonlocal symmetry protecting the degeneracy, while for integer SSS we find interactions among the flux degrees of freedom that select a unique ground state. The effective model for integer spins is used to predict the low-energy excitations and thermodynamics, and we make a comparison with the semiclassical limit through linear spin wave theory. Finally, we speculate on the nature of the isotropic limit.
We investigate the ground-state and finite-temperature properties of the mixed-spin (s,S)(s,S)(s,S) Kitaev model. When one of the spins is a half integer and the other is an integer, we introduce two kinds of local symmetries, which results in a macroscopic degeneracy in each energy level. Applying the exact diagonalization to several clusters with (s,S)=(1/2,1)(s,S)=(1/2,1)(s,S)=(1/2,1), we confirm the presence of this large degeneracy in the ground states, in contrast to conventional Kitaev models. By means of the thermal pure quantum state technique, we calculate the specific heat, entropy, and spin-spin correlations in the system. We find that in the mixed-spin Kitaev model with (s,S)=(1/2,1)(s,S)=(1/2,1)(s,S)=(1/2,1), at least, the double-peak structure appears in the specific heat and the plateau in the entropy at intermediate temperatures, indicating the existence of spin fractionalization. Deducing the entropy in the mixed-spin system with $s,S\ensuremath{\le}2$ systematically, we clarify that the smaller spin sss is responsible for the thermodynamic properties at higher temperatures.
Motivated by intense research on two-dimensional spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ Kitaev materials, Kitaev spin chains and ladders, though geometrically limited, have been studied for their numerical simplicity and insights into extended Kitaev models. The phase diagrams under the magnetic field were also explored for these quasi-one-dimensional models. For an isotropic Kitaev chain, it was found that a magnetic field polarizes the ground state except along the symmetric field angle, where the chain is found to remain gapless up to a critical field strength where it enters an intriguing soliton phase before reaching the polarized state at higher field strengths. Here we study an anisotropic Kitaev chain under a magnetic field using the density matrix renormalization group technique, where the ground state has a macroscopic degeneracy with a finite gap in the absence of the magnetic field. When the field is mainly aligned parallel to the strong bond, four-site and large unit-cell ordered phases arise. In a certain angle of the field, another ordered phase characterized by a uniform chirality with six-site periodicity emerges. We employ a perturbation theory to understand such field-induced ordered phases. The effective model uncovers the presence of transverse Ising and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions between unit cells, as well as further-neighbor Ising interaction induced by the magnetic field, which collectively explain the mechanisms behind these ordered states. Open questions and challenges are also discussed.
We study low-energy properties of spin-SSS Kitaev models in an anisotropic limit. The effective form of a local conserved quantity is derived in the low-energy subspace. We find this is the same as that of S=1/2S=1/2S=1/2 case for the half-integer spins but shows a different form for the integer spins. Applying the perturbation theory to the anisotropic Kitaev model, we obtain the effective Hamiltonian. In the integer spin case, the effective model is equivalent to a free spin model under a uniform magnetic field, where quantum fluctuations are quenched. On the other hand, in the half-integer case, the system is described by the toric code Hamiltonian, where quantum fluctuations play a crucial role in the ground state. The boundary effect in the anisotropic Kitaev system is also discussed.
An intriguing chiral soliton phase has recently been identified in the S=12S=\frac{1}{2}S=21​ Kitaev spin chain. Here we show that for SSS = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 an analogous phase can be identified, but contrary to the S=12S=\frac{1}{2}S=21​ case the chiral soliton phases appear as islands within the sea of the polarized phase. In fact, a small field applied in a general direction will adiabatically connect the integer spin Kitaev chain to the polarized phase. Only at sizable intermediate fields along symmetry directions does the soliton phase appear centered around the special point hx★=hy★=S{h}_{x}^{★}={h}_{y}^{★}=Shx★​=hy★​=S where two exact product ground states can be identified. The large-SSS limit can be understood from a semiclassical analysis, and variational calculations provide a detailed picture of the S=1S=1S=1 soliton phase. Under open boundary conditions, the chain has a single soliton in the ground state, which can be excited, leading to a proliferation of in-gap states. In contrast, even length periodic chains exhibit a gap above a twice-degenerate ground state. The presence of solitons leaves a distinct imprint on the low-temperature specific heat.
The Kitaev honeycomb model has attracted significant interest due to its quantum spin liquid ground state, fractionalized Majorana excitations, and topological properties. Motivated by these features, we introduce a quasi-one-dimensional Kitaev-like spin chain derived from a truncated honeycomb geometry. The resulting Majorana band structure contains both dispersive and flat bands, with a gap closing at a critical anisotropy that separates trivial and chiral topological phases. Under open boundary conditions, the topological regime hosts zero-energy edge modes protected by chiral symmetry, placing the system in the BDI symmetry class with a quantized winding number. In the excited spectrum, localized plaquette modes emerge near zero energy and can be tuned by introducing domains of negative plaquettes. The dynamical spin correlation function reveals broad continua associated with fractionalized excitations, together with characteristic low-energy spectral weight from edge Majorana modes. These features distinguish the present system from conventional Heisenberg spin chains and provide experimentally relevant fingerprints of chiral topological order. Our model thus establishes a conceptual bridge between the two-dimensional Kitaev spin liquid and Kitaev's one-dimensional quantum wire.
In the first part of this paper, we study the spin-SSS Kitaev model using spin-wave theory. We discover a remarkable geometry of the minimum-energy surface in the NNN-spin space. The classical ground states, called Cartesian or CN-ground states, whose number grows exponentially with the number of spins NNN, form a set of points in the NNN-spin space. These points are connected by a network of flat valleys in the NNN-spin space giving rise to a continuous family of classical ground states. Further, the CN-ground states have a correspondence with dimer coverings and with self-avoiding walks on a honeycomb lattice. The zero-point energy of our spin-wave theory picks out a subset from a continuous family of classically degenerate states as the quantum ground states; the number of these states also grows exponentially with NNN. In the second part, we present some exact results. For arbitrary spin SSS, we show that localized Z2{Z}_{2}Z2​ flux excitations are present by constructing plaquette operators with eigenvalues $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$, which commute with the Hamiltonian. This set of commuting plaquette operators leads to an exact vanishing of the spin-spin correlation functions beyond nearest-neighbor separation found earlier for the spin-1/2 model [G. Baskaran et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 247201 (2007)]. We introduce a generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation for the case of general spin SSS and find a complete set of commuting link operators similar to the spin-1/2 model, thereby making the Z2{Z}_{2}Z2​ gauge structure more manifest. The Jordan-Wigner construction also leads, in a natural fashion, to Majorana fermion operators for half-odd-integer spin cases and hard-core boson operators for integer spin cases strongly suggesting the presence of Majorana fermion and boson excitations in the respective low-energy sectors. Finally, we present a modified Kitaev Hamiltonian, which is exactly solvable for all half-odd-integer spins; it is equivalent to an exponentially large number of copies of spin-1/2 Kitaev Hamiltonians.